Frozen Heart
by Tsukasa Fan
Summary: It has been a few years since Rudolph's famous flight, and now he's a father of a socially insecure daughter named Holly. When Holly encounters a strange new buck in the North Pole, will she finally figure out her self-worth?
1. Chapter 1: Holly Not-So Jolly

**A/N: I suddenly got inspired, what can I say? It's May, but I had inspiration. Anyway, this one is probably going to be "serious" and not total crud. Critique helpful **

The small sleigh comes to a slow stop along the runway as the team's practice comes to a close. Dasher calls out to his team, praising them on a flawless practice. Christmas was still months away, but one must keep in tip-top shape to prepare. The reindeer slide out of their harnesses, working together to put back the dummy sled with the help of the elves around them.

"That boy of yours just keeps getting better," Cupid grins at Blitzen, gesturing toward Rudolph as he helps Prancer straighten the harnesses on their hooks, low enough for them to reach. Blitzen beams proudly.

"I'm so glad he's doing so well on the team, even when his nose isn't needed, but it does make our navigation easier."

"Rudolph?" Blitzen's ears perk as he notices Zoey trot her way over to his son. When Rudolph takes notice he grins as well.

"Hey, Zoey," it's been a year or two since they became mates, but the excitement still hasn't worn off. He meets her half way, gently kissing her cheek.

"Rudolph, you should come home." Rudolph looks confused as Zoey has a slight look of worry on her face. "Holly skipped school again." Rudolph sighed and shook his head.

"I'll talk to her…" He quickly gives her a nuzzle before starting off home. Holly was Rudolph's daughter, A headstrong yearling going through a rebellious phase. The other fawns poked fun at her for not having a glowing nose like her father- how the tables have turned.

As he arrived at the house, he approached his young doe calmly. She sat still on her haunches, starring at the wall begrudgingly, her ears back with discontent. She didn't hear her father walk in.

"I heard you skipped out today…" his voice was level, his eyes, soft. Holly didn't move. "You know, When I was your age, I didn't like it much at school either."

"That was before." Holly grunted. "And now I'm expected to be like you." Rudolph sighs and approaches her side.

"Holly-"

"Dad, They are telling me I can never be as successful as you! I'm too boring! I'm the daughter of the most famous reindeer of all time, and yet I have nothing to show for it!" she stands and stomps over to the other side of the house, her father calmly following her. "I'm useless!"

"No you're not." Rudolph stated. "I thought I was useless too. I wanted to be like you and your mother, normal. It was my greatest wish, but I learned it was a misunderstood gift." Rudolph walked his daughter before a mirror. "You're not useless. You are beautiful and smart. You may not know your talent yet, but I know one day you'll be great." he nuzzles Holly's cheek. She stared back at her reflection, she had a cream colored pelt and soft brown eyes. She was pretty, but she'd be even prettier if she smiled once in a while. She looked at her father's reflection and sighed, seeing her big red reminder on his face. "You have plenty of time to make your mark. Don't get hung up on it now." Zoey walks into the house and sees Rudolph and Holly. She smiles a bit before approaching them.

"Dad… can I go for a walk…? I want some time alone…"

"Only if you promise to go to school tomorrow and stay there." Holly's eyes drift to the floor, "Look me in the eye and say you will." Holly looks up at her father and sighs.

"Okay, dad… I will…" She walks out the door, dragging her hooves a little.

"Be back before dark!" Zoey called after her, shaking her head. "Rudolph, why did you let her off?" Rudolph watched Holly walk off into the snow before he replied.

"I gave her advice, I just think it would do her good to think it over."


	2. Chapter 2: Show Me The Light?

Holly stands on the runway, the breeze gently caressing her face. She soon gets lost in a day dream, gazing at the long stretch ahead.

"the crowd cheers as Holly steps up in the lead harness, looking absolutely stunning this Christmas eve Launch. Holly, the first female flyer in history is about to make her first flight " lost in her fantasy, Holly struts slowly up the runway. "never before had anyone seen a doe in the flyer harness, the crowd going nuts, you can hardly hear the music. They are sounding off now- Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph," getting to her own name, she starts to gallop down the runway, "Holly!" she closes her eyes taking off down the straight, making cheering noises as she runs. She wasn't paying attention to how far she had ran, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the cliff - a sheer drop, at this point the flyers would be taking off. She tried to put a stop to her momentum, but her Hooves skidded across the icy straight.

The next thing she knew, she was on her side, and it felt like she was hit by a snow mobile.

"What Are You, Stupid?! You Could Have Gotten Yourself Killed!" she peered up through her pain-squinted eyes to make out the face of one of the fawns in her class, one that frequently made fun of her. Defensively, she interjected, "I was trying to fly!"

"sure you were, right to the bottom of the chasm! " he snorted, turning away sharply, "you're welcome." as he starts to walk off, Holly fells anger coursing through her veins and gets to her feet.

"hey! You don't know what I'm capable of! "

"sure I do, we are yearlings, we can't fly! If you attended class once and a while you'd know that! " he turned his head slightly, his ears pinned back.

"Why did you save me, Will? You never stand up for me, you only instigate! "

"Don't read too much into it! and if you tell the others that I saved you, I'll get you back!" he turns away and starts to walk away. Holly was in shock, her biggest bully saved her. Why? She didn't completely understand it, but she figured she'd take it.

"... Thank you, Will... "

Will grunts, acting as if he doesn't care. "Next time don't act so stupid." without another word, he walked off.

Holly was officially confused. Why did he do anything? She shrugged it off and started toward home, it was getting dark.

As she trudged toward home, it was getting harder to navigate, as it got darker. She squinted as she tried to find the lights in the distance.

"great. " Holly groaned, trying to find her way, "this is precisely why I need a-" just then she saw a soft blue light out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head, being sure she was seeing this for sure. It was there. It was really there. A soft blue light glowing toward her left. Curiosity got the best of her as she goes toward the light. "hello?" she called softly, almost a whisper. The light shifted slightly. "Hello?" she repeated, and then the light disappeared. Curiously, she takes a step forward, just as a large ice spike juts up from the ground, and stops inches away from her face. Panicked, she makes a leap away from the petrusion, as more spike up from the ground. One Spike catches her back leg, giving it a shallow wound, but she bled all the same. She took off, limping and wounded, but she managed to get back home safe. She was out of breath and scared, to the surprise of her parents who were worried when she did not return by curfew.

"What on earth happened?! " Zoey rushes to her daughter, and noticed her shallow cut that had just about scabbed over.

"I- I Don't know!" Holly panted as the tried to regain her composure. She looked back out the door and back where she came, "there- there is something out there! I couldn't see it but-" Zoey insisted that she go lay down on her straw bed, and looked at her Mate.

"Rudolph-" Rudolph nods and walks outside, using his trusty nose like a flashlight. He spied Holly's tracks and followed them back. He saw the blood trickle leading up to large broken ice spikes jutting up from the ground, and what seemed to be covered-up tracks. He followed the dusted pathway and found an evergreen branch and a set of hoof tracks that abruptly end. Someone tried to cover it up.

**A/N: I wrote this chapter about a year ago, but it didn't come out the way I wanted it to. I made some hasty edits, and it's still not perfect, but here's the next chapter nonetheless. Sorry for the late update of this fic, I have like... Two more chapters to post I think on my phone. Either that, or one to post, and a future chapter I was working on. I've been working out some plotholes. It's so weird for me to be so dedicated to a fan fiction to actually try to fix plotholes... But I guess being a Rudolph fan does that to you. **


	3. Chapter 3: Icicle Doubt

The next morning came, and Holly headed to school like she promised. She couldn't stop thinking about the previous night. It was so bizarre and unnatural. She was approaching the small school house, when she saw Will near the doo. _'He must have broken the evidence! I just know it!'_ Holly thought to herself, striding past the other yearling fawns up to the door. She mustered up her courage and went forth to confront him.  
"Last Night Wasn't Funny! " she snorted angrily in his face. A bunch of yearlings turned to stare at her.  
"What Are You Talking About?" Will snorted back, his ears laying flat on his neck in confusion and irritation. Holly stomped a hoof, and raised her voice a little louder.  
"That Thing With The Ice! I Could Have Gotten Seriously Hurt! And To Cover It Up-" she was showing Will her abrasion on her leg when he interrupted her,  
"What Ice Thing? Cover What Up? "  
"You Destroyed the Ice Spike and flew off before you could be traced!" Will stared at her with confusion.  
"Okay, First of all, Ice Spike? What in Santa's beard are you blabbering on about?" Will asked, his dark eyes narrow.

"It was a giant Icicle jutting up from the ground!" the other yearlings burst out laughing.

"A giant icicle? Jutting up from the ground? Holly, I don't think you know what the 'North Pole' means… it means we are on the very top of the world." He began to idly circle her. "Now, seeing as though we are at the tip of the earth, how in the world is it possible for icicles to form upside down?"

"I don't know! Perhaps you were pulling a prank and got Stormella involved!"

"Highly unlikely, stub. Why would I go all the way out of my way to see Sormella for some stupid prank after dark?" the other yearlings began to chatter in agreement with Will, making Holly flush with embarrassment. "Second of all… how old am I?"  
" A Yearling, like the rest of us-" Will leaned in closely with his eyes narrowed, making Holly back down a bit.  
"Yearlings. Can't. Fly." a bunch of the other Yearlings started to laugh and stomp their Hooves at Holly, pointing out the most obvious flaw in her accusation. Before Holly could respond, the school bell rang. Will shook his head, turning into the door, "Giant upside-down Icicles..."  
The other Yearlings funneled in behind him, one young doe tossed her head a bit, giving Holly a downward glare.

"Such a pitty, the daughter of the most famous reindeer of all, is doomed to become the craziest reindeer of them all!" the other young does around her start laughing harder than before. "Giant Icicles jutting up from the ground! The very thought!"

Holly just about had enough of their teasing and taunting, and as she was about to ditch yet again, she heard her father's voice and immediately focused her attention on where it was coming from.  
Just over her shoulder, Rudolph was walking with Prancer and Santa Claus himself. Holly couldn't help it, she had to hear what was going on, and got a little closer.  
"Broken you say? " Santa asked, looking at Rudolph.  
"Yes! Like someone tried to destroy it! And there was a path of disturbed snow and-"  
"The point my colleague is trying to make, Santa," Prancer stepped in, "the area surrounding the village is now unsafe! And you know ow this isn't the only report of a blue glow in the woods... Residents have gone missing, and strange ice formations have been appearing as of late!" Rudolph nods in agreement.  
"I haven't seen Slyly or Leonard for quite some time, now that you mention it. I know they went away on vacation, but it seems like they should have been back by now. "  
Just then the second school bell rang, startling Holly as she bolted for the door, she couldn't possibly ditch school with her father right there. An unsettling feeling came over her as Prancer's words echoed in her head, about the blue glow, the missing residents, and the Ice formations... And she wondered, if it would be a good idea to go scouting out the situation herself. Probably not, but Holly had made up her mind, she was going to investigate tonight, but after her parents had fallen asleep...


End file.
